HappyTummy              

I’m back! And what a week to join in on the fun!

I loved this bread. I think chocolate and bananas are such a winning combination. Usually, I have ripe bananas waiting for me in the freezer, but I must have used all of them because I couldn’t find any. So I purposefully bought a bunch of bananas a week ahead of time to give them plenty of time to grow those big black spots. And sure enough, when the weekend rolled around, those babies were ripe!

I love that this bread was made with cocoa. I think there is such a difference between straight-up chocolate flavor and cocoa flavor. The former can be really sweet—even the darkest of varieties. The latter has a very smoky, earthy, almost woody taste. That may sound gross, but really, it’s delicious. And paired with the banana, it was heavenly.

Of course, I made a few changes. I figured since the bread was saturated with heavy flavors, a little whole wheat flour would go unnoticed. I also baked the bread in four mini-loaf tins. Much better to freeze and save that way, since I knew we wouldn’t be able to eat an entire big loaf between the two of us. Yum yum. The final product was a delicious. And I still have a mini-loaf wrapped up tightly in the freezer for another day!

Thanks to Steph for this week’s selection. You can find Dorie’s original recipe at Steph’s blog, Obsessed with Baking. My adapted version is below!

Recipe: Cocoa-Nana Bread
Adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup semisweet cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 stick Smart Balance 50/50 Butter Blend, at room temp
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 ripe bananas, mashed
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped, or 1/2 cup store-bought chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°. Butter a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan and place it on an insulated baking sheet or on two regular baking sheets stacked on top of the other. (This extra insulation will keep the bottom of the bread from over baking.)

Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt and baking soda.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter at medium speed for about a minute, until softened. Add the sugars and beat for 2 minutes more. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for a minute after each addition. At this point, the batter may look a little curdled — it’s okay. Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the mashed bananas. Add the dry ingredients in 3 additions, mixing only until they disappear into the batter. Still on low speed, add the buttermilk, mixing until it is incorporated. Stir in the chopped chocolate. Scrape the batter into the pan.

Bake for 30 minutes. Cover the bread loosely with a foil tent to keep the top from getting too dark, and continue to bake for another 40 to 45 minutes (total baking time is between 70 to 75 minutes) or until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for at least 20 minutes before running a knife around the edges of the bread and unmolding. Invert and cool to room temp right side up.